


Until Dawn

by TheBrothersRowe



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Josh fell instead of Beth, Role Swap AU, some other twist coming~
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:48:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22668808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBrothersRowe/pseuds/TheBrothersRowe
Summary: It was just supposed to be a fun night, a night where they could all let loose and have fun. Instead Beth got wasted with her brother's crush, and woke up to her brother and twin missing.A year passed and despite being less social than her siblings, Beth invites everyone back to remember her siblings. 8 teens stay on the mountain, but things aren't as they seem. Can they all survive Until Dawn?
Relationships: Ashley Brown/Chris Hartley (sorta), Beth Washington & Everyone, Beth Washington & Hannah Washington, Beth Washington & Hannah Washington & Josh Washington, Chris Hartley & Josh Washington, Emily Davis & Jessica Riley (Until Dawn), Emily Davis/Matt Taylor (Until Dawn), Matt Taylor (Until Dawn) & Everyone, Mike Munroe/Jessica Riley, Sam Giddings & Beth Washington, Sam Giddings/Josh Washington
Comments: 12
Kudos: 45





	1. One Year Ago

**Author's Note:**

> So this story was originally written on my DA account roughly 3 years ago, and I still love the concept. After replaying the game with some college friends, I decided to revive it with some changes. So enjoy!

**PROLOGUE JOSH 02:00**

I stared out the window absentmindedly, zoned out to hell as I heard the snow fall outside faintly over my music. It was better then listening to Sam and Beth snore after being wasted to hell and back.

Still pissed I lost that bet, I wanted to get drunk with my bro, but nooooo. Beth won and ended up getting drunk with Sam, leaving me to babysit the party. The only pro was that I gotta watch my little sister go through her first handover. Ah, what a milestone in life.

The others were also in the kitchen, talking about something I couldn’t hear.

Chris folded his arms over his chest, looking at the others. “Come on guys, don’t you think this is seriously messed up? It’s just a crush.” Chris asked.

“Just a crush?” Jessica scoffed, “She’s all over my bestie’s man. She deserves this.”. Jessica left the kitchen, followed by Mike and Emily. Chris groaned loudly, shaking his head as he followed them, he wanted no part of this fucked up shit.

Turning my phone off, I looked up just in time to see something move. “What the hell?” I whispered out, looking back to see if anyone else was around, but nada. Just me and the two girls that were out cold. “Dad said we were gonna be the only ones up here this weekend.” I muttered, lifting the blinds to try and get a better look.

Putting my phone back in my pocket, I walked over to Beth and Sam, chuckling as I picked up the bottle. “Gotta say, I am impressed little sister, I mean really. Able to drink a whole bottle, great job sis.” I smirked, patting her back which Beth responded with a groan. 

Moving away from her, I noticed a piece of paper on the table. “Oh, and who’s juicy love affair is this?” I asked, picking the paper up.

_ Hannah,  _

_ You look so damn hot in that shirt… but I’d bet you’d look even better out of it. Come to the guest room at 2:00AM. ;-) Mike XXX _

“Mike, you are so fucking dead when I find you.” I growled up, ripping the letter in half, tossing it to the ground. Just as I set the paper down, I saw a figure outside, immediately recognizing it as Hannah through the open blinds. “Shit.” I grimaced, heading out the door.

As soon as I got out of the kitchen, I saw the others running outside. “No, shit no.” I grimaced, taking my jacket from the couch and ran out to the front.

“Hannah! Hannah!” Chris shouted, standing in front of the group. I made my way over, stopping over to Mike and without hesitating for a FUCKING second, I decked the bastard right in the face. “What the hell, Josh?!” Emily exclaimed, bending down to Mike’s side. Mike grunted, holding his nose as it started to bleed. I hope I broke the fucker's nose.

“Josh, it was just a prank, we were just-” “Shut up, Ashley! I saw the fucking letter, I know what you assholes did to my little sister! So when I get back with Hannah, your asses better be gone!” I shouted, “Or I’m kicking all your asses.”.

Just as I was about to run, someone grabbed my arm. “Josh, please, this is crazy. I mean come on man, think about it!” Chris pleaded, gesturing to the weather.

I shoved him away, glaring at him, “I thought you were my bro, you didn’t stop this. You stop them hurting my sister! I want you out of here too.”. There was venom in my voice, but I didn’t care, ignoring his hurt look as I ran after my sister.

“Hannah! HANNAH!” I shouted as I ran through the forest, swearing as I nearly tripped over a root. I had to find Hannah, and fast, I know I saw someone out here.  _ I took my meds, I know it’s real! _

Taking the fastest ways I could, I came to a fork in the road. “Shit.” I grimaced, looking at the ground. It was tracks or noises. Fuck it, I’m following the tracks. I ran down the path, only stopping when I spotted three deer.  _ Shit, do not piss them off. _

Slowly I lifted up my hands, walking over, “I’m okay. I’m not going to hurt you.”. Rushing through these guys could fuck me up badly, I couldn’t chance it with Hannah out here. Making my way through safely, I took off, once again shouting for Hannah. The sound of a twig snapping made me stop, look back gasping.  _ You’re on your meds, it’s real. It’s probably just another deer or rabbit.  _ Swallowing the anxious feeling I had, I kept running hoping to find my sister.

“Damnit, where are you sis?” I asked as I continued to walk around, jumping down a small ledge.  _ Shit, it was dark as hell here. _

Taking my phone out of my jacket, I swiped the screen, turning the light on. “Much better-shit!” I exclaimed, jumping out of my skin as a bunch of birds flew past me, “God, I am not in the mood for it today.”.  _ Any other day I’d be thrilled about a horror movie setting. Right now with me alone, Hannah god knows where, and a creep walking around. A big FUCK NO from me. _

“Hannah! Han, where are you?!” I shouted, making my way through the woods when a deer rushed past me, “Stop doing that!”. Taking a moment to calm down, I kept going. As I made my way down the path, something caught my eye. “Holy shit…” I gasped, walking over.

It was a totem, I remembered the stories we were told about the totems, the warnings on the land. I always wanted to find one, but not like this, not a black one.  _ The black butterfly symbolizes the death of the holder.  _ “F-Fuck that…” I whispered, backing away, shit, I need to keep calm.

I felt my pockets, horrified to find them empty. “No, n-no, shit. I know I had my pills in my jacket.” I gasped, feeling my pockets again to still find nothing, “Ke-keep it together, Josh.”. Hitting my head a bit, I managed to reel myself back to reality, taking a shaky breath as I kept going.

“Hannah?” I faintly heard crying so I followed it, “Han?”. Pushing past some trees, I was relieved to see her. Hannah looked back surprised, gasping. “Josh?” Her voice was raw, god how long had she been crying?

_ Now I’m really hoping they stayed at the lodge so I could beat that bastard up some more. _

“Holy fuck, Hannah you’re freezing.” I rushed over, quickly taking my jacket off and putting it over her. 

Once she got the jacket on, I helped her stand up, letting her lean on me. “I’m such an idiot! I’m so dumb…” Hannah whimpered, god I swear I was going to have a heart attack with how angry I saw. I bit it back though, Hannah didn’t need an outburst.

“Hannah, you are not dumb. Look at me when I say that! You aren’t dumb, okay? Those assholes are terrible for doing this to you, but please, let’s go home, you’re gonna get sick.” I said. Hannah sniffled, hugging me and I returned it. I was pissed as hell at the others, but I was angry at myself for not stopping this. I’m her big brother, THEE big brother, I’m supposed to protect my sisters!

A twig snapping caught our attention, Hannah letting go of me as we both looked to where it came from. “Y-You heard that. Right?” I asked, feeling Hannah grip my hand tightly. A strange noise came from there and I felt Hannah tug my hand, prompting me to run with her.

The two of us ran from it, passing through the trees and crossing through the old bridge when I heard her fall. “Hannah!” I shouted, rushing over, helping her up. My phone fell out of my pocket, but I had no time to grab it as I pulled her after me, “Fucking move, Hannah!”. The two of us kept running until we couldn’t, a high ledge stopping us.

“Oh Jesus Christ.” Hannah gasped. I put my hand out to make sure she didn’t fall forward, my stomach knotting as I looked down.  _ Terrible, terrible idea. I was never afraid of heights, but now it was one of my fears. _

Turning around, I stood in front of Hannah, her hand still clamped tightly to mine. “Stay back! No, stay away from us!” I shouted, both us backing up a bit when I felt a sudden tug on my body and the two of us screamed as I fell back.

Thank god I paid attention in gym, as I just barely caught a root in the cliff. Hannah was still holding, crying as she tried to grab me with her other hand. I grunted, trying to pull her up when there was suddenly fire above us. “Don’t fucking let go!” I shouted down to Hannah, trying to keep my best grip on her.

A figure suddenly leaned over the ledge, making us both yell. The man reached down, holding out his hand. Both my hands were full and there was no way in Hell I was letting go of Hannah.

“I’m sorry!” I shouted to Hannah, both of us screaming as I let go. “AHHHHHHH-!” I screamed as the two of us fell, hearing a painful snap of my back as we toppled down the rocks, the world going black just like that.


	2. Memento Mori

**ONE YEAR LATER**

**TEN HOURS UNTIL DAWN**

**SAM PATH TO THE CABLE CAR 21:02**

"Today is the one year anniversary of the dreadful accident that took place on Mount Washington. Sheriff Annie Cline, who was in charge of the investigation." The radio man stated, passing off the conversation to the sheriff.

"Thanks for having me, Marty."

"Listeners, an update on Josh and Hannah Washington, the young siblings who are still missing."

"One year ago tonight, the Washington teens left the safety of their families lodge, and headed off into the storm."

"Foul play?"

"Not officially, no. There is an individual we are considering a person of interest, but his whereabouts are currently unknown. He has an interesting history with the Washington family. He had warned them against pursuing their construction project, and claimed the land was sacred to his forefathers."

"You know there is still that old Sanitorium on the mountain. Could he be hiding there?"

"My officers did search the grounds, but...the kids themselves couldn't have made it that far."

"Something about that mountain breeds tragic events."

"More than you know, Marty."

"Well, thank you for being here with us, Annie."

The radio soon cut off, and I turned my attention back to the video that I had saved onto my phone. It was sent to every single one of us a week ago by Beth, urging us to come back to the mountains to honor her brother and sister.

I sighed, replaying the video. Beth stood in front of the camera, swallowing a bit nervously. She was never one for being on camera, so the discomfort on her face was clear. Beth was wearing a blue, white, and gray flannel shirt, it seemed to be one of Josh’s considering how big it was. I couldn’t see the rest of her outfit from the video. What hurt more was seeing her wearing Hannah’s necklace, well, her necklace, they had matching ones for years… and now… She kept the same gray beanie on, her hair style not changing in the slightest.

“Hey guys, I know, I know. It has been an insanely long time since any of us talked. And..fuck, I thought I was ready for this.” Beth paused for a moment, taking a deep breath, “Look, I know a lot of us are still reeling from everything, but again, thank every single one of you for coming today. I know it would mean a lot to Josh and Hannah, because it means everything to me.” The message ended, and I turned off my phone, closing my eyes as the bus finally stopped.

_Sam, Hannah’s best friend. Diligent, considerate, adventurous_

A heavy sigh left me as I got off the bus, silently looking around. It had only been a year since any of us had been here but it felt like so much longer. So many great memories of being here every year...but it was hard to think of the happy memories when I remember what happened a year ago. 

I still couldn’t believe that Hannah and Josh had been missing for a year, it was just...impossible to believe.

“Come on Sam, you gotta do this for Beth. She wants us all to be here.” I whispered to myself, trying to encourage myself not to be a coward and turn back. It’s what Josh and Hannah deserved… plus she was right, Josh would totally want them to party hard and remember them.

Securing my bag, I made my way down the snowy path, following the familiar path to the lift. This mountain felt bigger somehow, going all the way up to the mountains. Making my way down the path, I saw the gate was closed. “What the Hell?” I asked, approaching the gate and taking off the piece of paper that was attached to it. ‘Gates busted. Climb over - Chris’. “Oh my god, she actually got Chris to come…” I frowned, putting the paper back.

Everyone was affected by the incident, but Chris took it really bad. A month after it, he ended up vanishing. Never coming to school anymore and hardly ever making contact with everyone. Mike was even sure he blocked everyone’s numbers.

_Who could blame him though? He lost his first best friend… and if I remember what the others told me, their parting words weren’t pretty._

“Alright, guess we’re climbing.” I huffed, walking over to the rock wall that the gate was attached too, and began climbing up it. It took some effort considering what I was wearing, but eventually I made it to the top, grunting I landed on the snowy ground. “Stupid gate.” I muttered, heading over to the lift.

Dusting myself off, I approached the lift, frowning as I saw no one here. _I hope everyone’s already at the lodge._

The wait for the cable car was a long and boring one, so I was really thankful when it finally came. “Thank god.” I whispered, climbing on. I sat down, staying seated as the cable care began moving, not noticing something was watching me as it went.

**MATT WASHINGTON LODGE GROUNDS 21:24**

“Couldn’t they have built the lodge right where the cable car ends?” Emily scoffed.

_Emily, Mike’s Ex. Intelligent, resourceful, persuasive_

“I don’t think it would have been, like, as pretty, you know?” I said as I picked up our bags. 

_Matt, Emily’s new boyfriend. Motivated, ambitious, active_

“And where’s the bellboy when you need him?” Emily asked, walking ahead as I followed. “Brr… Gettin’ chills.” Emily said, rubbing her arms.

“Are you getting cold-”

She cut me off instantly, “No I mean… I’m getting creeped out.”. “Oh, yeah.” It did feel really weird to be back up here after everything that happened last year. “Gonna be weird seeing everyone up here again.” Emily said, walking down the bridge. 

“Definitely not gonna feel like a regular party. I mean, what do you think-”

Out of nowhere, Mike jumped out, screaming and startling us both. “JESUS!” Emily screamed while Mike laughed at our reactions. 

_Mike, Emily’s Ex. Intelligent, driven, persuasive_

Mike laughed for a little longer, chuckling, “You guys really, really should’ve seen your faces right now.”. “MICHEAL!” Emily exclaimed. “Dude. I almost clocked you right now.” I said, secretly thankful it was just him. “Nice one.” Mike snickered.

“Micheal, you’re a jerk.” Emily scowled.

“Come on guys, we’re all friends here, right? No need for violence, just a little harmless fun! We’re in the woods! It’s spooky! Come on, let’s get into the spirit of things!”

Emily looked at Mike dumbfounded. “The spirit of things? Seriously? What’s wrong with you?” Emily asked.

A scoff left Mike, “I’m just trying to lighten the mood, Em. Don’t be like that.”. _Oh, he just fucked up._

“Like what?”

“The way you’re being. You always get like this.” Mike stated.

There were two ways I could approach this. Get up in his face about messing with Emily, which I did not appreciate at all, or try to be friendly, which no doubt would piss off Emily. Well, we might as well set things straight at the very beginning. “Micheal, you gotta step off. Emily and I are together now, and that’s just the way it is. I’m not gonna tell you again. Do we understand each other?”

Mike didn’t like that in the slightest. “Well, I thought maybe we could move past all this. Be buds. But, yeah, fine. No, no, no. It’s totally cool. I’m just gonna head down the road, be all mature and shit by myself over here. Peace.”

“I think he got the message.” _Dick._

With Mike heading off, Emily turned to me, a smile forming on her face. “You’re kinda hot when you get all alpha, you know that?” She said, smirking at me. I returned the smirk, leaning down to pick up our bags. “Ah, crap.” Emily suddenly said, making me look back. “What?” I asked.

“Hey, could you take these the rest of the way?” Emily asked, confusing me. “The bags?” I questioned. “Yeah. Just… All the bags. I need to go find Sam. Sorry… I just really need to go find her. I totally forgot I needed to talk to her before we get all the way up there.”

“This really can’t wait? We’re almost there.” I stated.

“It’s important. Matt. Please.” Looking at me, shit, I hated when she gave me that look. It was impossible to say no with how her eyes looked and how her mouth drooped.

Sighing, I nodded. “Alright… Fine… If it’s so important. I guess I can pack horse the rest of the way… but you owe me one.” I responded, picking up our bags. “Excuse me?” She asked. “Well then we’re even, at least.” I said. “I’ll think about it.” She replied, blowing me a kiss as she walked off, “I’ll see you up there, sweetie. Thank you.”. I turned around, making my way up the mountain.

**ASHLEY WASHINGTON LODGE GROUNDS 21:32**

_Ashley, Has a crush on Chris. Academic, inquisitive, forthright_

Not seeing anything interesting, I looked away from the telescoped huffing. I could only stare through this thing so many times and delay heading up there. The idea of seeing Beth and everyone else just didn’t feel right. Didn’t feel as bad as the idea of seeing Chris though. He never called once and gave everyone some very choice words when we all split apart that day.

Sighing, I stepped away from the telescope, immediately spotting Matt. “Well look who got stuck being the bellboy.” I said, folding my arms over my chest.

A laugh left Matt, stopping to put the bags down before looking at me. “I was honestly hoping you’d still be looking through that thing. Give you a scare.” Matt stated, smirking.

I groaned, shaking my head. “Jeez louise, Matt. This group has gone through enough pranks.” I bitterly remarked, walking away. “Hey, Ashley, wait!” Matt groaned, hurrying to pick up the bags before running after me, “Why are you so angry?”. Biting my lip, I turned around, facing Matt. “Chris is here. Didn’t you see the letter on the front gate?” I asked.

Matt’s mood immediately shifted to one of unease, “Beth actually got him up here? After last year, I thought he wouldn’t want anything to do with us.”.

“Can you blame him?” I muttered, frowning as we headed to the lodge.

I was dreading this, but it needed to be done. We needed to talk after all this time. I just hoped he’d be willing to talk.


	3. Darkness

**NINE HOURS UNTIL DAWN**

**BETH WASHINGTON LODGE 22:00**

“Jesus, we’ve been here a couple days and the mountain feels bigger every time.” Chris said. I let out a small chuckle, nodding in agreement. “It feels the same to me, don’t worry.” I replied.

_ Beth, Josh and Hannah’s sister. Reserved, stern, protective _

“Beth, you grew up here, come on. I thought if anything, it’d be shrinking for you.” Chris remarked.

_ Chris, Josh’s best friend. Methodical, protective, humorous _

“Not true, I’m afraid.” I remarked, sighing softly to myself as I looked around. 

Josh would be cracking some dumb jokes, getting all excited for everyone coming back to hang out while Hannah would run over and give Sam a big hug, having missed her best friend. But...that was never going to happen again, in one night I lost my big brother and twin sister all in one go.

_ I never should’ve gotten drunk. If I hadn’t, maybe I could have helped Josh find Hannah. _

Chris noticed my mood instantly deteriorating, hoping to lighten my mood with his personality. “So, when are you guys gonna install cell towers up here? I am going through absolute withdrawal here.” Chris stated.

It managed to work, making a small smile grow on my face. “If we sell your limbs to the black market, we should have enough to build a cell tower.” I commented, chuckling as his appalled look. Man...it felt really nice to smile and laugh again. It had been so long.

But even with Chris smiling and laughing with me, I knew he was feeling the exact same. While I didn’t really know Chris all that well, I knew how much he meant to Josh. The two of them were like brothers, inseparable ever since third grade. Every time you saw Josh, he was almost always with Chris, and honestly… I was jealous of it. I was never really a people person, so Hannah and Josh were really my only friends. But in third grade Josh met Chris, and Hannah met Sam in fifth grade, and suddenly...I was alone.

_ And now Hannah and Josh are gone… _

I snapped out of it hearing people coming, turning to see Matt, Sam, and Ashley had arrived. “Alright Chris, show time.” I said, making my way down the stairs to talk with everyone. Chris let out an aggravated sigh, but followed me, rubbing his arms. Jesus, even though all those layers he was still cold? I shuddered, rubbing my arms, my fingers lingering on Josh’s flannel…. It was three times too big for me...but it kept me warm. It made me safe...just like Josh used too.

_ Josh… Josh… he was gone because he went after Hannah… he’s gone because he protected her, he always protected us. Why… Why did he always have to be such a good brother..?! _

For the second time I spaced out, snapping out of my thoughts when Sam suddenly said my name out loud. “Beth! I’ve been saying your name for a while...are you okay?” Sam asked, a look of concern was prominent.

“I...y-yeah, I’m fine. I’m fine. Just...strange having everyone up here again, but Josh and Hannah would want everyone up here after everything.” I stated, taking a breath to calm my speech.

Sam nodded, giving me a comforting pat on the back. I gave her a small smile in return, wanting to try and say more when I saw Ashley approaching Chris. “Oh no, this can either go very good or very bad.” I said, looking at Sam. She just shrugged a bit, looking worried. Shit, should I go over there? Biting my lip, I decided to stay where I was.

Upon seeing Ashley approaching him, Chris instinctively got worried, ready for her to yell at him or slap him, when she hugged him. “I was worried about you, you big dummy. I missed you, I really missed you.”

Chris took a moment to process what she said, taking a shaky breath as he slowly hugged her in response. “I...I missed you guys too.” He breathed out.

I frowned a bit as I watched. Chris had only just started talking to me again a month ago, I was never as close to him as Josh so this was surprising. All up for bringing everyone back and was a real help setting all of this up. It was easy to see he was morning just like me, but he was always better at covering his emotions with smiles and dumb jokes… just like Josh. They were the perfect best friends…

Even with those smiles and jokes I could see how his smiles just weren’t the same, hear how his laughs felt forced. How tired he looked, how he looked skinnier under all those layers. Josh was his best friend, his brother even… we both lost someone close to us that day, we were the only people that seemed to be taking it that way at least.

Sam looked at me, a coy smile growing on her face as she nudged me, snapping me out of my thoughts. “So, how long have you had a thing for Chris?” She asked, smirking as she looked at Chris and Ashley, who were now talking to each other.

My mouth dropped, at a complete loss of words.  _ Did she just...I mean…!  _ My silence made her laugh, shaking her head. “It’s okay...I get it, I mean...I fell super hard for Josh.” There was a small smile on her face, making my heart ache a bit.

_ “Sam?” “Josh?” the two looked at each other surprised, while Hannah happily giggled. “Surprise!” She beamed, “I brought you two to have a movie date together!”. _

God, Hannah really wanted the two to get together more than anything. Hearing her say it out loud...damn.

Sam seemed to realize what she said, shaking her head lightly. “We should get inside. Before we all freeze our asses off.”

I gave a small nod, rubbing my arms. “Yeah, you're right.” Turning around, I made my way over to the door, unlocking it. When Chris and I first arrived a couple days ago, the lock on the front door was frozen over. Thankfully Chris was  _ generous  _ enough to climb in through a side window into the basement and burn the lock open for us. It was a glorious display of our two dumbasses combined. It was also really hilarious when he squealed like a girl because of the baby wolverine.

“You’ll be a big boy eventually, Chris.” I smirked, enjoying the confused looks from the others as I made my way inside the lodge.

_ Fun times...too bad it wouldn’t last. _

**MATT WASHINGTON LODGE 22:28**

“Chris, come help me start a fire.” Beth said, making her way over to the fireplace with Chris. Man, Ashley was right, it was freezing in here too. But that’s not what I was worried about.

Everyone headed inside the lodge, enjoying the small peace. Emily still wasn’t back yet, making me a little worried. Even Jess and Mike were back, wasting no time to snuggle up on the couch. We never found out what happened to Hannah and Josh...who knows what was up here?

_ Shit, you’re just being paranoid. _

I heard the doors open, looking up immediately. Just as I was wondering where she was, Emily came through the door and was not happy with what she saw. “Oh my god, that is so gross.” Emily groaned, folding her arms over her chest, “Are you trying to swallow his face whole?”.

  
  
  


“Em…” I got up, hoping to defuse the situation. I was really hoping I could calm her down, now was not the time to be having cat fights.

“Excuse me...did you say something?” Jessica asked, getting off the couch. Everyone else in the room was starting to look visibly uncomfortable. After all, we all came here to have fun and remember Josh and Hannah.

Jess and Emily wasted no time getting at each other’s throats, I tried defending Emily but Jess wasted no time chewing me out. Before I could say anything, Beth suddenly stood up, fuming. “Both of you need to can it, now! We are here to remember my brother and sister, not listen to all of you bitch and moan, okay! So if that’s all you’re going to do, you know where the cable car is.” Beth angrily explained, glaring at the two girls who glared back.

Noticing this, Chris walked over. “Hey, how about you two go to the guest cabin, okay? Give everyone time to cool off.” Chris stated, which Mike agreed to immediately. Gathering Jess, Mike headed outside, Beth following the, while Chris stayed to start a fire.

I, meanwhile, had to leave, because we left behind one of Emily’s bags. What a night this was turning out to be.

**MIKE WASHINGTON LODGE 22:43**

“Here. If you do anything, you're cleaning it up.” Beth said, begrudgingly handing me the keys to the guest lodge.

“Thanks Beth, you’re the best!” I cheered, grinning as she walked back inside. Her only response was a lovely middle finger. “We’ll see you later!” I called out, before turning to Jess, who gave me a look. “What?” I asked.

She gave a small shrug, putting on an innocent face, “Oh nothing. You just look really friendly with her. Maybe we can start a threesome~”. 

“A threesome, huh.” I chuckled, that was quite the idea, “We can think about it after we enjoy the lodge to ourselves. Get out of there.” Jessica nodded in agreement, heading down the stairs.

_ Hmm, the idea was tempting though. _

Smirking to myself, I led the way out to the guest lodge. Ah, the perfect setting. A cabin out in the ass end of nowhere, defrosting by the fire while having sweet ass sex.

Now that was a vacation.

**BETH WASHINGTON LODGE 22:45**

“Idiots.” I muttered, heading back inside. The only people still around are Ashley and Chris.  _ Perfect, the girl who had a crush on my crush and my crush were in the same room with me. How dreadful. I swear I didn’t hate Ashley, I just… felt so jealous cause he clearly liked her back. Fuck, having a crush on your brother’s best friend was always the worst. _

Swallowing down any awkwardness, I walked over to Chris, planning to try and think of something we could do. I wasn't as nerdy as Josh or Hannah, but I could certainly try. 

As I walked over, Chris smiled immediately seeing me. “Beth, hey. I know this might sound super super weird. But I need you to trust me on this.” Chris stated, standing up to face me. “Why do I feel like I’m going to regret this?” I asked, folding my arms over her chest. “I promise you won’t, but feel free to say no. I was thinking, and Josh told me you guys had one, that we grab the spirit board and try contacting them.”.

This request took me aback, it certainly wasn’t what I was expecting at all! “You...want to use a spirit board to talk to Hannah and Josh..?” I asked, getting a nod as a response. 

All that paranormal shit was a load of crap, that’s what mom always said. 

_ But...what if it wasn’t? What if there really was a chance that I could talk to them again. _

Taking a moment to compose myself, I nodded a bit. “Okay, yeah. Um, we should have a spirit board around here somewhere.” I replied.

“Are you serious? Those things never work. I mean-” Before Ashley could finish, Sam came down the stairs.

“Hey, Beth. No hot water, major oversight doncha think?” Sam asked, walking over to us.

_ Shit, no hot water? _

A groan left me as I pinched the bridge of my nose, “Fuck. Yeah, we can turn it back on in the boiler. Which is in the basement. You two… you two can go hunt for the spirit board.”.

Ashley smiled immediately, making her way over to Chris. “Come on, Chris. Let’s go find it, like a scavenger hunt.” Ashley said, leaving the room. “Um, okay.” Chris followed after her, but I did notice the faint smile forming on Chris’ face. I had to thank her for something, she really was making him happy.

Once the two of them were gone, I turned to Sam. “Up for a grand old basement adventure?” I asked.  _ God, I cringed myself out sometimes. _ Josh was always the best with witty commentary. Despite this, Sam followed, the two of us making our way down the stairs. Going to the drawers by the movie theatre door, I took out the flashlight.

“So...Chris and Ashley.” Sam said, looking back up the stairs.

I bit back a witty compliment, nodding a little. “Whatever makes Chris happy, god knows he needs it. Now come on, let’s get to the boiler room already. I want to take a hot shower later.” I explained, leading the way.

“I didn’t mean to offend you or anything, Beth. I’m just saying… We've all been quiet, especially him. It’s just nice to see him enjoy something.” Sam remarked, following me through the house. Leave it to Sam to always be the diplomatic one.

“I know, I know shit. Sorry. I don’t hate her, I swear. Ugh, I don’t want to talk about this right now. We can discuss crushes after we get the water working.” I sighed as we continued through the basement, going through the door and headed down the stairs.

Thank Christ there was some light in the basement, barely but it was something. I made my way down first, swearing loudly as I forgot about the busted step, nearly busted my ankle when I stepped on it. “Watch your step, these stairs are ancient.” I explained, getting to the bottom. “How old even is this place?” Sam asked.

Making my way through the basement, I approached the boiler, swinging open the doors. “It always feels like this would be the ideal place for a horror movie. Gives me the creeps.” Sam whispered, walking around a moment, I frowned to myself, remembering the days Josh would film fake horror movies with me and Hannah as the main leads for fun. Jesus… everything reminded me of them.

Sam noticed my mood, looking down the stairs as she sighed heavily. Guessing she was thinking about them a lot tool

We made it to the boiler, and I turned to her, “Mind helping me out with this?”. She nodded, walking over to help me with the machine. “Hold the flashlight for me.” I passed Sam the flashlight as I looked over the controls. I knew how to do it pretty well, Josh was always too lazy to do it and Hannah was always scared of the basement… shit, I was thinking about them again.

A noise caught our attention, making us all look up. “What was that?” Sam asked, looking to where the noise came from. “I...I’m sure it’s nothing.” I said, glancing over to where I had heard the noise, cautiously eyeing Josh’s old baseball bat, “Let’s get this done. Stand still please, Sam.”.

I worked on the controls, Sam thankfully keeping the light still so I could start the boiler. “Alright, we’re all good now. All we have to do now is get the water pressure up before we can start the boiler.” I explained, walking away from the controls. 

“Sounds complicated.” Sam remarked.

“Sam, don’t worry it’s actually really simple.” I stated, moving back to the controls, letting Sam go up to the boiler, “Just hit it when the button changes colors.”. Sam listened to me, waiting until the light switched, and hit the button.

We both cheered as it switched on. I chuckled, looking over as Sam suddenly held up her hand, oh shit- I lifted my hand up, high fiving her in time. “Nice job, duo ladies.” Sam chuckled. “We are not being called that.” I stated, folding my arms over my chest.

The victory was short lived as a noise caught our attention again. “What was that…?” Sam asked, looking around. “It’s an old basement, I’m sure it’s just the pipes or something.” I explained, trying to not make myself paranoid.

The noise was heard again, making me nervously swallow. “Okay, I know we both heard that.” Sam stated.

Swallowing heavily, I picked up Josh’s old bat, holding it tightly. “Stay back here. I’ll check it out.” I said, trying to hide the quiver in my voice. Before the other two could stop me, I was already walking towards the noise, clutching the bat tightly.  _ Josh, wherever you are, you better be keeping me safe with this bat. _

Just as I got around the corner, a masked figure leapt out of the corner, yelling. I screamed, dropping the bat in panic. _ Screw this!  _ “Run!” I screamed to Sam, knocking a mat down behind me to slow down the person chasing us. “Beth, come on!” Sam exclaimed as the two of us rushed to the stairs.

We made it to the top, finding the door stuck. “Why is the d-door locked?!” Sam exclaimed. “We lock them in case someone breaks in!” I grunted, trying to help Sam bust the door open.

The figure approached us, stopping suddenly, “Hey…”. “What..?” Sam gasped. “Hey.” They said again. “WHAT THE HELL?” Sam groaned.

The figure pulled down their hood, revealing Chris, “Boom! You just got monked.”. I stared at him dumbfounded as he shook his fist in victory.

_ Dear lord, I knew if Josh was here he’d be laughing his ass off. Meanwhile, it looked like Sam wanted to shove her boot up his fucking ass and send him flying off the mountain with her shoe. She was not in the mood for everyone’s shit today. _

“Chris… I… will fucking murder you.” I groaned, resting on my knees to catch my breathe. While I was happy that he was starting to act like his normal self again, fuck him for scaring us like that. Shaking my head as I unlocked the door. The four of us made our way back into the living room, where Ashley was waiting.

“What the hell are you wearing?” Ashley asked, looking at the robes Chris was in. “Worry about that later, I found it.” Chris said, pulling out the spirit board.

Sam scoffed, shaking her head, “You guys have fun, I have a hot bath waiting for me.” Sam stated, making her way upstairs. 

_ Could not blame her in the slightest...however.... _

I sighed, tossing my hands in the air, “Fuck it. Let’s do this.”.


	4. Isolation

**EIGHT HOURS UNTIL DAWN**

**ASHLEY WASHINGTON LODGE LIBRARY 23:00**

“Alright, let’s do this before I change my mind.” Beth sat, the three of us sitting at the table, the spirit board between us. Between the three of us, Chris decided to be the spirit master. “Let’s try this already.” I stated, all three of us putting out hands on the board.

“Hey, Ashley, since you’re a recent convert, why don’t you be our medium today?” Chris asked.

_ Of course it had to be me. _

Thinking a moment, I decided to take it seriously so I wouldn’t accidentally upset Beth or Chris. “Ok. Um… Anyone there?” I asked, “Will you reveal yourself to us… if you’re there?”. After I finished talking, we all put our right index finger on the pointer, gasping as it began moving. “What the hell?” Beth gasped. “It’s moving again.” Chris stated as the pointer shifted, stopping on ‘H’, “What is spelling?”.

The pointer kept moving, a terrifying chill wrapping around us as it spelled out ‘HELP’. “Oh my god…” Beth whimpered, her stomach knocking. “This isn’t funny guys come on.” Chris stated, getting a glare from Beth. “Why would I be moving it, Chris?” Beth scowled.

Swallowing a whimper, I asked another question, “Who is this?”.

We all gasped as the pointer kept began moving, all of us reading out the letters, “S-I-B-L-I-N-G.”. “Oh my god.” I whimpered, looking at Beth. I have four sisters...but this had to be them. “Beth, it has to be-”

“W-Which one then…?” Beth whimpered, her voice trembling as I could see tears threatening to roll down her cheeks with the candlelight.

“Ash...ask who it is.” Chris said, obviously terrified of what the answer might be.

Frowning at her, I looked around, wondering who it was. “Who are we speaking to...? Josh…? Josh, is that you?” I asked. Once again the board moved, landing on ‘YES’, “Oh, god.”

“This is messed up.” Chris muttered, hanging his head low.

Beth sniffled lightly, the tears still there, “W-We… I wanna keep going. Please. I want to know what it says.”. Slowly I nodded, looking at Chris who nodded as well. “Think about it, Ash… If… If it really is Josh, we can find out what happened maybe…” He grimaced, he hated thinking about that night… losing his best friend and he couldn’t do anything to stop it.

“Beth..?”

“I can handle it.” She sniffled, nodding.

“Okay… Let me think. Josh… We miss you.” Both of them looked at me sadly when I said this, “We want to know what happened to you. Can… can you tell us what happened?”. The pointer moved once more, spelling out another word. “B-E-T-R-A-Y” “Oh no.” “E-D. Betrayed?”

To our horror it kept going, moving onto another word. “K-I-L-L-E-D. NO!” I cried out. “K-killed…?” Beth whimpered, gasping in horror as her free hand covered her mouth. “We didn’t KILL them! It was just a prank!” I exclaimed. “That stupid prank killed my brother and sister!” Beth whimpered, tears running down her cheeks.

“Guys, calm down..! We need to know what happened.” Chris stated.

Beth glared daggers at me but stopped, letting me ask another question. “Okay. Who killed you? Josh. Who was it?” I asked, watching the pointer move, “L-I-B-”. “The library, is there something in the library? A clue?” Beth asked.

Before we could ask another question, the board flew off the table, making us all scream. “Watch out!” Chris shouted. “Holy shit.” I muttered, standing up and holding my head.

Taking a shaky breath, Beth stood up, looking towards down the hall. “I’m going to the library… Come on guys.” She said, heading to the door, only stopping when she realized Chris was still sitting, looking back, “Chris?”

“You know what? I’m done, this is bullshit.” Chris scoffed, getting up, “If this helps you grieve, fine then Beth. I don’t need this. See you later.”. The two of us watched him walk off, Beth sighing as she looked at me, “I guess we’re going to the library by ourselves.”.

**MIKE PATH TO THE CABIN 23:22**

“Jesus, about time we got here. My feet are killing me.” Jess huffed as we could see the cabin down the pathway. “That’s a fun way of saying ‘I can’t fucking wait to take these layers off and get in bed’.” I said, cracking a smile.

A scoff left Jessica, giving me a look. “Charming as ever.” She said.

“I am known to be a charmer.” I remarked.

Just as we crossed over a small hill, something down the hill caught our attention. A deer was laying down in the path, a gash in the side of its neck. Jessica made her way over, while I stayed back a little. “Damn.” I muttered.

“It’s horrible!” Jessica whimpered, getting closer to it, looking at the poor deer. “I don’t think it’s going to make it.” I said, seeing how it was slumped on the tree and clearly in a lot of pain.  _ God, I wasn’t a big wild life guy, but this was fucked _ .

Thinking a bit, I carefully stepped forward, holding my hand out towards it. We couldn’t save it, so might as well make it feel better about it the best we could. “God, the poor thing.” Jessica whispered as I got closer to it.

“Hey bud… Hey buddy…” I softly said, slowly approaching the deer so I didn’t scare it off, “It’s okay. It’s okay, it’s okay…”. I stroked its face carefully, trying to soothe it. Shit… reminded me of when we lost the family dog, awful fucking day.

“Ohh...Mike!” Jessica walked up behind me, putting a hand on my shoulder, “It’s in so much pain. “It’s okay buddy, it’ll be over soon.” I said.

A strange noise filled the air and suddenly the deer was dragged away. Jessica let out a scream of horror, wasting no time to run. “Run! RUN!” I shouted, pushing myself off the ground, running after her. “Oh my god, what the hell was that?!” Jessica screamed, looking back. “I don’t know!” I responded, keeping up behind her.

_ That had to be a bear, I mean what else was it?! _

The two of us kept running, hurrying up a small ledge of rocks. It was risky but it was way fucking faster! Making my way up, I helped Jess up, the two of us hurrying towards the cabin.

Rushing to the front of the cabin, I bolted to the door, only stopping when I heard Jessica yell, seeing she had fallen.  _ Jesus, why does everyone fall?!  _ I rushed over to her, helping her up, “Come on! We gotta o!” “I am-!” Jess shouted, getting me off. I snatched the key off the ground, hurrying back to the door. “Mike get the key, get it open!” Jess exclaimed, getting over to where I was.

Relief filled both of us, swinging the door wide open, rushing into the cabin. Once both of us were in here, I slammed the door shut behind us. “Oh my GOD, that was so close!” Jess panted, looking back at me as we were safe inside the cabin. “Nah. Had it under control. Whole time.” I said, panting as I caught my breath.

“Bullshit.” Jessica scoffed, jabbing a finger at my chest.

The two of us had a quick discussion on what the hell happened, and as much as I’d love to keep talking, I think we deserved a little fun after all of that. However, Jess wasn’t feeling it. No matter how much I tried to use my charm on her, she wasn’t having any of it. Fire and mood lighting she said.

_ Stupid teen romance novels. _

  
  


After grabbing what I needed -and spotting a fucking awesome gun-, I started the fire. “Man one. Fire zero.” I said, closing the door to the fire place. No need to burn ourselves.

“Bravo. Very nice.” Jessica said, starting to warm up instantly. “Alrighty my lady. What comes next?” I said, turning back to her.

I liked Jess, I really did, but it felt like every time we got so close there was another thing. The shutters had to be closed, someone was watching us, well, I say let the bear perv if he wants too, we’re going to have a great time.

Once we got down to the root of the problems, and I helped Jess feel better about herself, I started to take off my layers. This trip was finally about to be worth some-

A crashing noise in the other room caught our attention, looking away from each other. Taking the flashlight with me, I got up from the couch, heading to the bedroom. As I passed the kitchen, I swear I could hear some noises coming from the room. Heading in, I instinctively shuddered, seeing the window was broken open. Making my way over, I picked up what was making the music, which was Sam’s phone. “It’s your phone!” I shouted, turning to Jess.

“What? How is it my phone?” She asked, making her way over. I glanced out the window and groaned in annoyance, “Stay here.”. I was just trying to have a nice time with my girl and these assholes were ruining it for us. Well, time to tell these dicks off and show them who the macho Mike is.

Opening the front door, I stepped outside, looking to see if I could see anyone outside. “Guess what freaks! Yeah, I know you’re fucking out there! And guess what, It doesn’t change anything! We’re going to fuck, and it is gonna be great! So enjoy it, cause I know we will” I shouted before walking back inside, closing the door behind me, “People, am I right?.”

Jess stood there a moment, looking at me, “I don’t know if that was the hottest thing you’ve ever done or the cringiest.”

_ Please say the first. _

Just as I stepped forward, the glass of the door broke behind me, a startled scream tearing through me as something grabbed me by the back of the hair and pulled me out into the night.

**ASHLEY WASHINGTON LODGE LIBRARY 23:14**

I got up from the table, still holding the candle as I walked away from the table. “Do...do you really think they were trying to talk to us? My brother and sister?” Beth asked, her voice wavering a bit. Jesus, I couldn’t imagine how bad this was for her.

“I-I don’t know.” I said, watching as Beth joined me.

A heavy sigh left Beth, “I guess we gotta find out.”. After a year of nothing, I couldn’t blame her for wanting answers.

Not waiting for me, Beth began her way downstairs, and I followed after her. “Chris seemed really freaked out. I mean, Josh was his best friend.” I said, following after Beth. “Yeah… he was my best friend too, so I can’t blame him.” Beth whispered out, making me frown. “I’m sorry, Beth. I know we came up here to remember them, but maybe we went too far with the seance.” I remarked, feeling partially guilty for doing the seance.

We made our way to the library, when suddenly a book flew off the shelf, nearly hitting Beth. 

“What the hell?!” Beth shrieked, covering her head.

“Ah! Beth!” I shouted, “Holy crap! Oh my god… look. There’s something behind the books.”

“What…?” Beth breathed out, walking over, seeing the button, “Why the hell is that here? I’ve never seen it before.”. Looking back at me, Beth took another step forward and pressed the button, both of us gasping as the bookshelf shifted, revealing a small room. “What… what is this?” Beth asked.

I turned to her stunned, “You didn’t know this was here?”

“No! I never knew about this! This place is ancient, for all I know there could be more I never knew about!” Beth exclaimed, holding her head.

**BETH WASHINGTON LODGE LIBRARY 23:19**

I took a deep breath, putting my hands down as I looked at the small room. “Okay, fine, I’ll go in.” I took the candle from her, making my way into the room.  _ Major creepy vibes, I hated it.  _ Taking a moment to compose myself, I walked towards the only table in the room. Immediately I noticed a picture on it, my stomach knotting as I saw who was on it.

_ It was a picture taken a couple of months before the accident, I remember taking it. Hannah had won bronze during the Alberta game. Josh was so proud of her despite getting, running up to her and picking her up cheering. I got the picture perfectly timed. It… it was one of the last pictures that had been taken of them. But why was it her? _

Hesitantly picking up the picture, I flipped it over, my body going cold. 

**_I WILL TAKE THEM AND BLEED THEM LIKE PIGS AND RIP THEIR SKIN CLEAN OFF! FUCKING_ ** **_YEARS_ ** **_I’VE WAITED TO GET PRETTY LITTLE HANNAH AND JOSH_ **

A disgusted gag left me as I dropped the picture, panting heavily as I trembled. Noticing my reaction, Ashley came to the entrance of the room, looking at me. “What is it?” Ashley asked. I quickly shook my head, hurrying out of the room gasping as tears burned the corner of my eyes. No, no no no! Please, god no! They couldn’t have been killed, oh god, no not Josh and Hannah!

Just as Ashley went to ask me again, we both heard a door open not too far from us. “Jesus…” I whispered, swallowing hard as I followed the noise.

The door that opened led to a hallway and I didn’t hesitate to go down despite my heart going a million miles an hour. Jesus, if this really had something to do with Josh and Hannah… then I needed to find out what happened.

“I hate how big this lodge is sometimes.” I whispered as we got to the end of the hall. We entered one of the rooms and a sudden banging on the double doors nearby caught our attention. Ashley looked at me before hurrying to the doors. “Wait, Ashley, dammit!” I exclaimed. A yell came from behind the door, my stomach knotting as I recognized it.

“It’s Chris!” Ashley stated, opening the door, “CHRIS?”. I let out a startled yell as she pulled through the door, it slamming shut behind her. 

“Oh god, oh god!” I gasped, rushing to the door trying the knob, “Fuck! Hold on you two!”. Shit, this was gonna hurt. Setting the candle down, I began ramming my shoulder into the door, praying it would open up. After slamming into it three times, the door swung open and I almost fell forward. Gasping, I stood up, spotting Ashley on the floor. “Guys-” The last thing I saw was a masked figure appearing out of nowhere, clocking me in the face and I fell to the floor, the world going black.


	5. Malevolence

**SEVEN HOURS UNTIL DAWN**

**JESSICA CABIN 23:59**

“Oh my god, oh my god!” I gasped, rushing out the door, stopping a second as I remembered Mike put the gun back. I had no idea how to use this fucking thing, but it was better than not trying. Taking it, I tossed it onto my back, running outside with the lantern. “MICHEAL!” I screamed, following the tracks and screaming, “Mike!”.

Running through the forest, I stopped, swearing to myself as I looked at the two different paths. God, I was terrified but I had to take the shortcuts, I couldn’t waste anytime! Securing the riffle on my back, I made my way across the river, thank god for cheerleading and gymnastics for giving me a great sense of balance.

Crossing the river, I panted, looking around when I heard him scream again. “Mike! Hold on!” I screamed, running after him.  _ Jesus, I never thought I’d be the one doing this crazy shit! _

I eventually made it to a cliff. “Oh my god, jesus.” I took the rifle off my back grimacing, shit, how the hell do you use these things?! Checking the gun out a bit, I managed to get a good hold of it, looking through the scope thingy to check around the cliff.

At the very bottom I spotted Mike, laying on the ground trying to crawl away. “MIKE!!!” I screamed, horrified as he screamed upon being dragged away again. “NO! NO! SHIT, SHIT! HELP!” Mike screamed, clawing at the ground as he was pulled back. “NO!” I cried out. Biting my lip, I looked down the ledge whimpering. “God, cheer don’t fail me now!” Putting the rifle on my back, I gripped the lantern tightly as I sat on the ledge of the cliff, screaming as I slid down.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck me!” I screamed, spotting a branch. Reaching out my arms, I thankfully grabbed onto it in time, panting. Swinging down, I landed on the ground, picking the lantern off the ground and continuing running. “Stupid nature!” I exclaimed, ducking under trees and jumping over fallen trees.

I stopped as I spotted a large crack in the ground, grimacing as I looked at the two ways I could go. “Shit.” I whispered, jumping to the closest platform. God, I was so sick of this FUCKING mountain!

“Ugh, these boots were not made for this!” I panted as I made it across, taking a deep breath as I kept going. I made my way over, looking around. 

_ Jesus, this was some fucked up horror movie! _

Looking around, I noticed a slope. “Fuck me.” I grimaced, sitting down on the ledge, yelling as I slid down. Fuck, fuck! It was so fucking cold!!! Shit, I was going down too fast! I spotted a log, grabbing it quickly only to miss. “SHIT!” I screamed, sliding down fast, catching the ledge last second, the lantern falling down, “Fuck me!”. Catching my breath, I carefully began climbing down, dropping down once I reached a good height.

God, this night was a fucking nightmare! Mike was god knows where, I was covered in snow, it was hell!

“Come on… come on, Jessie. Get a hold of yourself.” I whimpered, picking the lantern up and walked around, hugging myself to try and get warm. A scream caught my attention, my head snapping up. “Mike, oh my god, Micheal!” I screamed, running after the screams. I ran over, spotting Mike for a quick second before he was dragged into the building.

Rushing over, I swung open the doors, looking around for him. “Mike!” I cried out, tears freezing on my cheeks as my heart hammered against my chest. I whimpered, following the noises. “Don’t be dead… please don’t be dead…” I whimpered, heading down the stairs, sniffling as they loudly creaked under me.

“AHHHHH! SHIT! JESSICA!!!” Mike screamed, making me cry more as I walked faster. “Mike..! Mike, hold on!” I shouted back, making it to the bottom of the stairs. “You have to be shitting me.” I groaned, seeing a long mine track leading more into the mountains, “Why does it never end?”. Following the tracks, I ended up in a big room, an elevator in the center.

As I got closer, I immediately noticed the figure laying there on the elevator. “Oh my gosh!” I dropped the gun and lantern, running over, “Micheal! No, please tell me you’re alive!”.

A pained groan left Mike, moving slightly making me gasp in relief. “God, you’re hurt so bad.” I sniffled, watching as he tried to sit up but couldn’t. He was covered from head to toe in cuts and bruises, clothes soaked with dirt and snow. What I was really worried about was the gashes on his chest and face. Christ, I wasn’t a doctor, but I knew dirt and open wounds was a very bad thing.

“Hold on-” I reached my hand out, yelling as the elevator creaked before dropping, the entire thing collapsing and falling down the hole. “MICHEALLL!!!!” I cried out, whimpering as I dropped to my knees. “No, no no.” I sobbed, curling up as I cried.

**JESSICA MINES 00:12**

Sniffling, I rubbed my eyes for the hundredth time to get the tears off, catching my breath as I slowly pushed myself up. I needed to get out of here, I had too. “I have to get out… I…” My voice was raw from crying so hard and all I could do was whimper, looking around for a way out. Eventually I noticed something at the top of the elevator shaft, making me whimper. “You can’t be serious… why does everything have to be a climb away?” I whimpered, making my way up carefully.

It was a complete pain, but I managed to get it done, sniffling as I looked around. “Please… please let this be a way back to the lodge.” I whimpered, walking through the tunnel, lightly shaking as I couldn’t stop the soft crying. Tears weren’t even there anymore, I couldn’t cry anymore.

Hugging myself tightly, I made it to the end of the tunnel, shivering as I could feel the cold wind again. Looking around, I spotted a strange building. “What is that..?” I whispered, looking around before looking back at the building. Swallowing, I walked to the building, it was the only place I saw, and maybe something would go right and take me back to the lodge.

**BETH WASHINGTON LODGE 00:41**

The first thing I noticed when I started waking up was the immediate pain in the back of my head. “Fuck me...that’s a concussion.” I whimpered, blinking as I slowly came too, looking around only to find myself alone in the kitchen, “Chris..? Ashley?”. Looking around, I saw no one, getting more worried. “Oh no…” Picking up the flashlight from the ground, I carefully stood up.

Everything about this was driving me insane, shit… I hugged my arms, holding tightly on Josh’s flannel. “Josh, if you’re really a ghost and trying to tell me the truth… Please keep us safe.” I said, walking out of the kitchen. I never once believed in ghosts before, but everything about this felt way too real. “If I find out this guy really… really did kill you, then he’ll have hell to pay. I promise.” I stated.

Making my way around the lodge, I spotted something on the ground. “No, no. Oh god.” I gasped, picking up Chris’ broken glasses, “Oh god, Chris.”. I grimaced, pocketing the glasses as I kept walking around. Chris couldn’t see shit without his glasses, he absolutely refused to get contacts or laser surgery.

“Josh, please… I need you.” I whimpered, continuing forward. God, why did I want us all to come back up here? I should’ve just changed my mind and said no, then this sick fuck wouldn’t be messing with us anymore. “Please… please.” I sniffled, gasping as I entered the hall, finding a large blood stain on the wall, “Oh god, no no no.”.

The blood trail ledge out of the lodge, and despite my fear I followed it, it was all I had to find the two of them. “Chris! Ashley!” I shouted, shivering as I made it outside.

_ Everything about this reminded me of that night, Chris telling how Josh ran after Hannah without thinking. God, I couldn’t blame him, look what I was doing now. _

Walking down the path, I spotted the lodge, my stomach knotting anxiously. Looking at the place alone gave me a sinking feeling, film would always do his mockup horror scenes out here, to think it was actually being used for a real nightmare now made me sick.

I walked into the shed, the first thing I noticed was the sound of crying. “Ashley? Chris?” I asked, walking deeper inside.

“Oh my god, Beth? Are you there, Beth?” Ashley asked.

“Ashley, hold on you two, I’m-” I made my way over, jumping as the lights switched on, my eyes widening at what I saw.

Chris and Ashley were both strapped to a wall, two tracks leading to them, and on the end near me was a large saw. “No, no.” I whimpered, my stomach churning, “This has to be a nightmare.”.

“Hello, and thank all of you for joining me.” A voice came over the radio, making me gasp as I looked around in terror for anyone, but it was just the three of us in this very, very real hell.

“Ahhh! Chris, Chris wake up!” Ashley pleaded, whimpering as she couldn’t get free. Chris came to, confused as his glasses were missing. Blinking a bit to try and see, he looked around horrified. “What’s… what’s happening?! Why are we here?!” Chris exclaimed, struggling as well.

Shaking my head, I hurried to the door, trying to force it open, Chris and Ashley still yelling as they tried getting free. “Tonight we’re going to conduct a little experiment. A sort of test. Now, for this experiment, we’ll need the cooperation of our two test subjects… Christopher and Ashley…”

“This is crazy, oh my god.” Chris panted. “..What?” Ashley whimpered.

“But we’re going to need one more brave participant to help decide… which subject will live, and which subject will die.” I stopped trying to open the door, my eyes widening as I looked at the two.

This just made the two of them panic more, shouting at me, screaming in terror. “Beth, you gotta get us out here please!” “PLEASE, GET US DOWN FROM HERE YOU MANIAC!”

“Everyone, please calm down. It’s all very simple. Elizabeth, you will find a lever placed directly in front of you. All you have to do is choose who you will save.” I sniffled, looking down at the lever, tears rolling down my cheeks. “Please… please don’t make me do this.” I whimpered, holding myself as I looked at the two, “I can’t do this please…”.

The sound of the saw turning on made me sick, looking up to see the blade spinning. “Oh no… please! This can’t be happening! Oh god oh god oh god..! This isn’t right.”   
  


“Beth, come on please…! We’ve known each other for years! Please, think about it!”

“Oh my god! BETH! You CAN’T LET ME DIE!”

“Beth, please! I mean, jesus…!”

I held my head, whimpering, “Stop, stop let me think..!”. I looked between them, sniffling. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Ashley.” The saw shook some more as it began to move down the tracks. I looked down at the two pictures, sniffling, god this felt so unreal. Swallowing hard, I grabbed the lever, turning it towards Chris’ picture.

“Ah… I see. You have chosen… to save Ashley.” My eyes widened as I saw the track turn towards Chris. “No, that’s not what I meant! Stop, stop it…!” I pleaded, rushing to try the door again, getting nothing.

“No, NO NO! Beth, why?! I thought we were CLOSE! I’m sorry, I’m sorry about that night! But why me?! What did I DO?! OH GOD, WHAT DID I DO?!” Chris shouted, struggling as the saw got closer.

“Stop it, stop this please!” I sobbed, trying to block out their screams by covering my ears as I sobbed, “Please, stop..!”.

Covering my ears did nothing, and I screamed as I could hear the saw finally get to him, their screams growing louder until Chris’ suddenly stopped. I curled up into a ball, sobbing when the door suddenly opened. Struggling to get up, I ran over, whimpering as I looked at Chris. Ashley hung there sobbing, her head hung low as she was drenched in his blood. All she could do was cry, knowing what had happened.

Taking a shaky breath, I ran over to her, freeing her, “We...we gotta go.”. I got Ashley free and wasted no time running out with her, both of us crying as we left that nightmare, Chris’ screams still ringing in my ears.

“Beth! Ashley!” We both looked up, gasping as we saw Matt and Emily. Groaning, I let go of Ashley, running to a tree and puking as I cried. No, no he couldn’t be dead. Oh god, no! Please, why him too?!

The other two ran over, Matt patting my back before helping me stand up straight. I whimpered, leaning on him. “Blood! Blood! Who’s blood is that, Ash? Beth, what happened?” Emily asked, looking at the two of us. I sobbed harder, struggling to talk over my hysteria.

“C-Chris…” “Chris what?” “He died… right in front of us..! Th-there was a saw… and oh my god…” I whimpered, slinking away from Matt as I held my head crying. “There’s this maniac.” Ashley sniffled, gesturing back to the shed.

“A maniac?” Matt asked. “Oh my god. We gotta get out of here.” Emily stated.

“There w-was a maniac… it was him or Ash, an-and.. I-It tore him apart, blood everywhere… he k-kept screaming at me… It’s my fault…! I killed him, I did it!”

Emily shook her head, looking at Matt then us. “No. No, this is insane. We need to get out of here. Matt, we need to get help.”. Matt grimaced a bit, looking at us then Em, “Em, we need to find the others-”

“Mike and Jess are off 69’ing each other and who knows where Sam is.”

“She’s back at the lodge… I… I can’t go back there, please…. Please…!” I begged, why did we come back?! Why?!

There was a moment of silence before Emily huffed in annoyance, shaking her head. “Fine, FINE! You two go get help, we’ll look for Sam in the lodge and gather everyone else.” Emily stated.

I nodded, swallowing heavily, “You… you guys be safe. We’ll go to the cable car station, get help. If that doesn’t work, there’s a fire tower not far from there. We’re gonna get help.”. Matt nodded, following after Emily back towards the lodge.

“Come on… let’s go.” I breathed out, walking ahead and Ashley slowly followed me.

_ Please… just let this nightmare end... _


	6. Dread

**SIX HOURS UNTIL DAWN**

**JESSICA SANATORIUM GROUNDS 01:03**

I peaked over the wall, gasping as I saw wolves. “No…. no, this isn’t good….” I whimpered, hiding behind it. There was a crazy guy out there, and he had freakin wolves! Sure, they looked cute online and stuff, but not when they’re a couple feet away from me and potentially ready to claw my freaking face out!

“I can’t believe I’m doing this…” I whispered, watching him make his way inside the building.

Making sure the gun was secure, I climbed over the wall, grunting as I jumped down the other side. “Fuck.” My ankles and knees were so going to hurt like hell after this. “This is fucking crazy.” I whispered as I walked to the building, it wasn't like I could just stop though, I mean this might be my only way back from here. “God, Mike I wish you were here…” I whispered.

I shuddered as I could head the wolves, christ these things made me so anxious. I liked animals and all, but this was way too much.

Making sure no one was around to spot me, I made my way closer to this strange place, God, how many things were on this freaking mountain? “Okay… okay, okay. I need to keep going.” I whispered, approaching the side of the building. Looking around one more time, I started moving a metal grate over the hole in the wall and made my way inside. “You got this Jessie, you got this.” I whispered, making my way through the building, “What am I thinking..? I don’t fucking have this…”.

Even inside it was fucking freezing though it made sense, considering this palce was falling apart! Like jesus!  _ I swear to god, was it a rule or something that every building on this mountain had to be freaking massive?! _

Making my way through the place, I entered a large hall, approaching a door labeled ‘CHAPEL’. This crazy place had a chapel inside?

Lowering the lantern, I peaked in through the small window, silently gasping as I saw someone and two wolves. The guy looked somewhere I couldn’t see, shouting something out and the wolves went that way. Great, crazy people talking to animals… I’m so fucked. “Shit… I’m guessing I need to go over there.” I grimaced, looking at the door, “Where the hell am I going to find a security card at?”.

Walking away from the door, I entered the area labeled ‘ADMIN’. If I end up dying here, I’m haunting whoever that guy is.

Everything about this place terrified me. The cold, no lights, all of it. This was a horror movie waiting to happen… and after what happened with Mike, it felt like I was living a fucking nightmare.

“No… you have to be fucking kidding me.” I whined, seeing one of the only paths available was leading to the morgue. Whining, I made my way down the stairs, clinging to the rifle, which I still had no idea how to use! Worse case scenario, I swing it like a fucking bat.

As I walked around this place, I found a lot of weird papers and even creepier things. I even found a machete, the only reason I took it was the fact I knew how to use a freaking giant knife and it completed my freaking apocalypse look. “This place was a hell of a paradise, what reporters wouldn’t want to be here?” I muttered, setting down the telegram. This place was freaking ancient, I mean telegrams, what the hell?

Leaving that room, I heard a strange noise coming from the one I was getting closer too. The second I entered the room, I saw a swingy hand with a piece of paper on it. “Oh my god, ew ew ew!” I exclaimed, running away from it.

The door leading out of the room was locked, a whimper leaving me as I saw the door needed the card as well. “Oh god… please be somewhere obvious, and not disgusting.” I whimpered, walking around. 

_ What I wouldn’t give to just freaking wake up in the guest lodge with Mike! _

Struggling to not puke up my dinner, I began walking around, not seeing the card on any of the counters. “No, no… No, FUCK me.” I groaned, looking at the boxes on the wall. Fuck, it had to be in there.

Closing my eyes, I slowly began opening each one, eventually finally finding the card on a grody ass corpse. Just as I reached for the card, it’s mouth opened, a rat climbing out of it. My stomach took control, and I took the card as I quickly ran to a corner, vomiting all over the ground. “Gross, gross, gross!” I cried, shaking myself as I tried to calm down somehow, “I hate this place, I hate this place!”

With the card, I opened the door and made my way upstairs, one step closer- “AHHHH!!!” I screamed as a black wolf tore through the wall, chasing me up the stairs as I ran as fast I could. It was a fucking miracle I didn’t trip up the stairs and I soon got far enough ahead that I was able to close the door behind me, separating the wolf from me. I panted, leaning on the door, looking up as I heard a strange noise.

Getting off of the door, I looked through the broken glass window, seeing that weird guy from before, but more shockingly enough, another person, the other wolf beside them. “Shit, two wolves and two people…. Just fucking end me already.” I whined, backing away from the window.

I walked around, hopping down the platform and headed back to the chapel door. “Place is a loopy nightmare.” I muttered. Using the card, the door unlocked and I made my way inside, screaming as the black wolf was back. I jumped back, raising my hands gasping, “Please! Come on, be a good boy, I won’t hurt you! Just don’t eat me..!” It growled at me a bit before walking off, laying in a corner.

“Holy shit…” Taking a shaky breath, I walked away from the dog, walking around a little more, hoping to find a way out. In the center of the room was a large chest, curiosity got me and I opened it up. “What the…?” I leaned forward, going through the chest, gagging at the sight of bones. Pushing the bones away, I picked up a picture from the bottom.

It was faded to hell, had water damage, and was covered in dirt, but I could easily make out that it was Josh and Hannah.

“How did this get down here…?” I asked, deciding to pocket it, spotting another thing. Josh’s watch?! Taking it, I knew it was when I saw ‘J.W.’ signed in on the back. I looked back at the wolf, anxiously gulping as it stared back at me. Oh shit, please don’t tell me this place had something to do with them.

Putting the watch in my pocket, I kept going, blasting the lock off the door with the gun. “Jesus!” I exclaimed, startled by the recoil of the rifle, “Shit…”. I needed to learn how to use these things after all of this.

And of course what did I find behind the door, another freaking hallway! Walking around, I headed down a set of stairs, wincing at how much my knees and ankles hurt. I wasn’t surprised if I seriously sprained them from all the jumps, I mean I fell a lot in the past few hours. Making my way down the endless halls, I found another blocked door. Making sure I had a stronger grip on the gun this time, I shot the lock. My victory was short lived though, as the oil drum next to the door started to catch on fire.

_ WHY WERE THERE OIL DRUMS?! _

“Oh, shit!” I ran past the flames, yelping as the force of the blast knocked me forward.

**ASHLEY UPPER CABLE CAR STATION 01:05**

The two of us walked around, making out way towards the cable car when I heard a click behind me. Confused, I turned around, trying to the gate we just came through only to find it locked. “Um… Beth.” I said, trying the gate again.

Beth didn’t respond, continuing down the path. I frowned, following after her. “Beth, do you need to talk…?” I asked. I was glad she saved me… but… but to think Chris was really gone, it was awful… his blood was still all over me, it made me feel so gross, when it first hit me I almost threw up at how warm the blood was on me.

“I don’t want to talk, Ash…” Beth muttered as we kept going.

I frowned, following her, “I’m sorry… I just… thank you, thank you for picking me.”

Beth stopped for a moment and it made me super anxious, grimacing as she turned around to look at me. She took a shaky breath as she looked at me, looking ready to cry all over again. “Did… did you know he tried to kill himself…?”.

This shocked me, my eyes widening as I stared at her. “Shit...you… you can’t be serious? Chris?” I asked.

She nodded slowly, sniffling, “I found out…. Because mom and dad still talk to his mom. I overheard them talking, he… fuck, he tried to kill himself, he almost died. I went to visit him and he… he looked so awful. He lost weight, just… looked so, so terrible. And then I see him here. He was… he looked so happy, so alive… and a fucking hour ago he gets sawed in half by some crazy guy!”.

Without thinking, I hurried over, hugging her tightly, sniffling. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry... “ I whimpered, clinging to her. Beth whimpered, hugging me back.

After a while we let go of each other, Beth taking a shaky breath as she looked down the path. “Come on… we gotta keep going.” She stated, walking ahead. I nodded, sniffling as I followed her.  _ We needed to get help and fast… or else Chris wouldn’t be the only one gone. _

The two of us kept going until we got to the cable car station, the two of us gasping as we looked at it. “Jesus, did a bear get inside or something?” I grimaced, looking in. Looking around, Beth spotted an axe stuck in the door. Swallowing, she took the axe, looking it over. “I’d feel so much better if you had that.” I stated.

She nodded, trying the door, huffing. “It’s locked. I don’t have the key on me.” Beth groaned. Looking around, Beth gripped the axe, “Stand back. I’m… I’m gonna make us a way in.”.

Getting an idea of what she had planned, I stepped back, flinching as she started swinging the axe at the door, using all her strength to cut it open. After a couple swings, the door opened up, Beth panting as she dropped the axe.  _ She really needed a break once we got help, a long break… we all did after this nightmare. _

“It looks worse than I thought. What did this?” I asked, walking inside, trembling lightly. God, I didn’t know how much more of this I could take. “We were here only a few hours ago, how the hell did this happen..?” I questioned, shivering as I saw ‘DIE’ written all over the wall.

“It’s… it’s gotta be that maniac somehow. What else would it be?” Beth remarked, walking around, “Okay, the cable car isn’t going to work. Um, oh! The fire tower, I remember dad told us where it was, come on.”.  _ Jeez, Mr. Washington really did power wash the map of the mountain into their heads. _

Considering it was our only option, the two of us made our way to the fire tower. I didn’t know I was afraid of heights until now, having to shimmy across the platform to get to the other side. “This mountain is seriously a nightmare…” I grimaced, the two of us heading up a hill towards the fire, “Beth… Beth, what if the fire tower doesn’t work? Why don’t we just hide out until the morning, so the psycho won’t find us.”.

“It has to work, our friends are in there, Ash. We need to get help… I won’t lose anyone else…” Beth stated, the two of us making it up top. “This place never ends.” I grimaced, walking around a bit when I spotted something in the small bridge, “Huh? What’s this..?”.

Lifting up the board, I saw something underneath just barely in the moonlight. Reaching my hand down, I picked it up gasping, “Oh no, oh no no no.”. “What? What is it, Ashley?” Beth asked, hurrying over. Frowning, I stood up, holding out the phone, her eyes widening. “Beth… Beth, this is Josh’s phone.” I whispered, my voice quivering.

She shook her head, snatching the busted phone out of my hand as she looked it over. “No way… This….” Beth took a shaky breath, looking around, “If this is here, then there has to be something else.”.

Without waiting for me to reply, Beth began walking around, getting closer to the edge. “Beth!” I exclaimed, worried as I hurried over.

Beth leaned down, picking something up from the snow. A broken sign? “Danger cliff, we better watch out step.” She grimaced, looking around hoping to spot something else. However she couldn’t, as a strange noise caught our attention. “What was that?” I gasped out. Beth gripped the axe in her hand, taking a shaky breath as we both looked forward.

The two of us backed us as far as we could, deer quickly surrounding us on the cliff.

“Oh...shit…”

**SAM WASHINGTON LODGE 01:11**

With the music playing and the warm water keeping me at peace, I was in my own little word, gently bobbing my head along with the classical music. That’s when I faintly heard the door slam shut.

Taking off my ear buds, I looked around. “Guys? Who’s funny idea is it this time?” I asked, looking around, getting no response, “Oh...kay.”. Looking around one more time, I climbed out of the bathtub, covering myself up with a towel. Walking to the door, I groaned finding my clothes gone. “Seriously, guys?” I groaned, turning to open the door, “Chris? Mike?”.

I left the bathroom, and to my surprise, a balloon was attached to the guard rail, “What the hell?”. Taking a closer look at the balloon, I noticed a white arrow was painted onto it, pointing to my right. “Shit.” I whispered, walking to the door and opening it.

_ Why was it always so dark in here? _

“Chris? Mike? Emily? This is really getting out of hand, okay? It was all, very funny, ha ha, look at Sam walking in a towel, but now I just really want this all to be over, alright?” I called out as I headed down the stairs, trying to find the others, “Guys?”. I groaned as I got no response, making it to the bottom of the stairs. As I passed a dresser, I frowned spotting a familiar photo.

We took this photo the summer before everything happened, all of us doing an escape room to see which group of best friends would win the fastest.  _ ‘Best girls vs. best bros. Hannah/Sam vs Josh/Chris’ _

_ Jesus, I missed those days so much. _

Setting the picture down, I continued walking through the lodge, making my way down another set of stairs to the cinema room. I made my way to the bottom of the stairs, noticing the light from the projector immediately. “Where the hell are you guys?” I asked, grabbing a flashlight from the table. 

Shaking my head, I walked inside the cinema room

“Hey! Guys come ON! I am DONE with this! I really don’t appreciate the silent treatment here!” The doors swung shut suddenly behind me, making me scream as I look back startled.

“Hello Samantha.” I practically jumped out of my skin hearing the unfamiliar voice, “Looking for me? I don’t think you’ll have much luck by looking, Samantha.

“What the…? What the hell…?”

“You’re only going to see what I want you to see.” The screen switched on, making me gasp as it showed me in the bathtub. Oh god, he was the person in there?!

It only got worse when the screen changed, my eyes widening. “CHRIS!” I screamed in horror, gasping as he screamed as was cut in half, “WHAT DID YOU DO?!” I screamed, backing away whimpering.

“I’m going to give you ten seconds. Nine.” “Please no…”

A scream tore through me as the doors burst open, revealing the psychopath. “Sam? Sa-am.” They taunted. I gasped, wasting no time to run out of the cinema room and into the next room. I hurried down the hall, pushing all the doors open, slamming the door shut behind me as I was in the guest room. 

Looking around, I hurried to the bed just as the psycho opened the door. There was no time to hide! I hopped over the bed, hurrying out the door, making my way to the basement. Remembering what Beth said about the stairs, I made sure to catch myself, hurrying into the basement.

Once I reached the bottom of the stairs, I kept running, I needed to lose him! This place was huge, I could do it somehow! Looking around, I noticed the door and bolted over to it. “Are you kidding me?!” I shouted, seeing the handle gone. Searching around, I realized he was right behind me, so I knocked over the cabinet behind me to slow him down as I began to ram my body into the door. “Come… on…!” I shouted, nearly falling forward as I got the door open.

Quickly pushing myself up, I shut the door and put up the lock, screaming as the guys hand came through the peep slot. Grabbing the slot, I quickly shut it on his hand, stopping him from grabbing the lock.

It wasn’t going to last him long, so I kept going through the basement, making my way down another set of stairs. Holy shit, how far down did this place go…? Using one hand to keep my towel up and the other to grip the flashlight, I kept going. 

Soon I was in a completely different place, but I had to keep going. Looking around, I decided to hide. Hurrying forward, I climbed into the elevator shaft, quickly turning off the light as I could hear footsteps not far behind me.  _ Don’t breathe, don’t move, don’t do ANYTHING. _

I held my breath for an agonizing minute before he left swearing, stomping off. I softly gasped, staying there a little longer to make sure he didn’t spot me.


	7. Psychosis

**FIVE HOURS UNTIL DAWN**

**BETH CLIFFTOP 02:03**

“Oh shit…” I whispered, my grip on axe tightening. The two of us stood at the edge, panicking as we were surrounded by a herd of deer, “Fuck, can this day get any worse..?”.

_ God, what I wouldn’t give to just wake up today and have this be a terrible nightmare… _

Glancing back at Ashley, I slowly walked forward, trying to keep calm just to be safe. Ashley followed me slowly, gasping as we began to walk through the deer. “K-Keep calm, we’re going to be okay, trust me.” I stated, continuing through the herd.

Just as we got near the front, one of the deers stood in front of me, making me tense up.  _ Please, please don’t attack us…  _ Holding my breath, the deer sniffed me, looking me right in the eyes.  _ Please…  _ After an agonizing minute that felt like ages, the deers parted. “Holy shit…” I gasped, Ashley and I moving forward, finally getting forward.

Looking back to make sure we were clear, the two of us kept going, heading down a path to get to the fire tower. “That was way too freaking too close for comfort.” Ashley said. “Yeah… no kidding, to think I loved seeing deer up here all the time.” I breathed out, continuing to walk down the path, feeling relieved as I saw the tower, “Finally.”.

The two of us approached the tower, gasping as the lights turned on. “Oh my god, that’s so bright!” Ashley exclaimed, both of us shielding our eyes. “Crap,they’re motion sensors.” I winced. I hardly went out this far on the mountain, so this sucked, why the hell were the lights so fucking bright?

Shielding my face still, I started walking up the stairs. “Jesus, I wish I had time to grab my jacket…” I muttered, rubbing my arms. His flannel felt so warm, I hoped they were looking over us… I hoped I could do them all right by getting help and getting this bastard caught.

The two of us made our way up the tower, eventually entering. “We made it, thank god.” Ashley hurried over to the radio, turning the dials only for nothing to happen, “W-What… why isn’t it working?”. 

“The power might be out. Come on, let’s look around.” I said, starting to look around the fire tower. There was probably a power box outside, but there had to be something useful here. I mean, it was a freaking fire tower!

Checking the lockers, I opened them up, frowning as I found a missing poster for Hannah taped up to the locker door. “Did those ever get out?” Ashley asked.

“I didn’t even know they made these.” I frowned, picking up Hannah’s poster to look at it.

_ Hannah Washington was last seen in the location of the Blackwood Pines Ski Lodge, Alberta between 1:30AM and 2:30AM on February 2nd, 2014. She may have been in some distress. _

I scoffed, putting the poster back in the locker.  _ No shit she was in distress. _

Seeing there was nothing else I needed in the lockers, I walked away from them, heading outside while Ashley stayed by the radio. Fuck me, it was freezing. Rubbing my arms, I walked around the outside of the tower, noticing a box on the wall. “A flare… could use this.” I said, taking the flare from the box and pocketed it, who knew when I would need this.

Walking around, I finally found the power box and pulled the switch, sighing as the lights came on. “Perfect.” I said, heading back inside.

“You got the power on!” Ashley sighed out, starting to mess with the radio to get a signal. I was about to join her side when I noticed something, the printer. Stopping a moment, I pressed the button, watching a paper come out. I picked up the freshly printed paper, frowning.

_ Joshua Washington was last seen in the location of Blackwood Pines Ski Lodge, Alberta between 1:30AM and 2:30AM on February 2nd, 2014. He may have been in some distress. _

_ IDENTIFYING CLOTHING/FEATURES: Josh was wearing a dark green jacket with white horizontal stripes, dark jeans, and brown boots. _

_ Height: 175cm (5’9) _

_ Weight: 167lbs _

_ Eyes: Green _

_ Hair: Dark Brown _

_ CALL 1-877-555-0127 _

So that’s where Josh’s paper was… what the hell? They didn’t even finish printing his posters? 

Shaking my head, I set the poster down, more angry as I thought about it. It was definitely dad, him and Josh never had the strongest relationship, and when they went missing, dad only cared about Hannah being gone.

_ We’re going to solve this Josh, we’ll catch him… For you, Hannah, and Chris. _

Taking a deep breath, I joined Ashley’s side just as she got through to someone. “Oh my god, finally!” Ashley gasped, hearing a voice, “Hello! Hello! We need help please!”.

“Hello?” “Thank god, finally! We need help, please!” “Hello? Is someone trying to contact us? This is park ranger services for Blackwood County.”

The two of us instinctively looked at each other in fear, please God, let this thing work!

Nudging Ashley away from the chair, I sat down, talking calmly as I could. I knew the signal could be shit up here, freaking out wasn’t going to help in any way. “My name is Beth Washington. My friends and I are stuck at my family's lodge. Some… Some freak is up here with us and has killed one of our friends. We need help please.”

My heart raced as there was silence for a while, sighing as there was a response. Ashley suddenly rushed to the window, “Oh god, something tripped the lights.”.

“I read you, ma’am. Please do not leave your position. We will send out helicopters to get you as soon as the storm has subsided, over.” Shit, fine, at least it was better than nothing.

Ashley hurried over, leaning by the microphone, “How long will that take? Hello? How long until someone gets us out of here?”

“Dawn, at the earliest. Not until dawn, over.”  _ Dawn? That was five hours away! _

The two of us jumped up with a scream as there was a loud bang on the hatch that we entered from. I gripped the axe firmly in my hands, Ashley hiding behind me. It tried hitting the hatch a few more times before stopping, a sigh of relief leaving me. But the nightmare was hardly over.

A loud creaking sound filled the air, the tower beginning to tilt as something cut the support cables. “The towers falling!” I shouted, nearly falling over myself as things began sliding around the room. I hastily attached the axe to my belt as the tower started tipping to the side. A scream tore through me as I failed to grab something to hold onto, landing on the window with a cry of pain. “Oh my god, Beth!” Ashley shouted, dangling from the window frame.

I groaned in pain, hearing the grass crack beneath me. That was the least of my problems as the radio fell from the table, hitting me in the face, “AUGH!”. I screamed as I fell through the window, just barely grabbing onto the rails in time despite the pain exploding in my head.

The worst of it was yet to come, both of us screaming as the tower fell into the mines.

**ASHLEY MINES 02:43**

Taking a deep breath, I slowly began walking through the collapsed fire tower, looking around. “Oh my god.” I gasped, realizing how far into the mountain we were.

“ASHLEY!” A scream caught my attention, and I looked over the edge, shocked to see Beth dangling from the edge. The fact that she was still holding on was a massive surprise considering she got hit in the face with the freaking radio. “Ash, please help me!” Beth shouted, holding on for dear life.

I took a step forward, gasping as the tower shook. Oh god, oh god it was gonna fall! It was gonna fall! Looking around, I noticed a ledge not too far from where I was. “Ashley, no don’t!” Beth shouted. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to fall! I rushed forward, grunting as I landed hard on the platform, flinching as I heard Beth fall. Sniffling softly, I pushed myself up, uselessly trying to wipe any mud and blood off of me.

“God, where am I…?” I whimpered as I looked around.

**EMILY WASHINGTON LODGE 02:03**

“Oh my god, where the hell is she already?” I asked, walking around the lodge with Matt. “I don’t know, do you think she went outside?” Matt questioned, looking back at me.

I scoffed, folding my arms over my chest, looking at him, “Really Matt? I mean come on. Why the hell would she go outside after taking a bath? She’d freeze in this weather. Does that sound like it’d make any sense at all?”.

Matt opened his mouth before closing it, sighing as he shook his head. “No, no I guess not.” He muttered, folding his arms over his chest. “Exactly, we already discussed the rules Emily is always right, now come on.” I stated, walking down to the stairs, “She’s probably down here or something. It’s the last place she could possibly be meat for brains. After we find Sam, we gather everyone and hole up somewhere.”

The two of us made our way downstairs, entering the basement. “God, creep city.” I groaned, rubbing my arms as I led the way. Just as I made my way deeper into the basement, something went flying across the room making me jump back with a scream. “Oh my god, what the hell?!” I exclaimed, “God I am so sick of this place!”

“Em, breathe. Let me lead okay, once we find Sam we’ll get out of here, okay?” Matt said, walking ahead of me. Much to my dismay the door was locked. “Great, now we’re trapped.” I groaned.

Looking around, Matt shouted as a picture flew off the wall. “Stupid ghost!” I shouted. Matt looked at the picture hesitantly, walking over to take the key from the wall, “Well, we got a key. Now-”

Matt turned to face me, his eyes widening. I looked back, gasping seeing a white ghosty male figure walk by. “God, this is insane! Let’s use the stupid key already!” I shouted, taking it from him and walked to where the stupid ghost pointed. I walked over, shivering, seeing a doll house. “Gross.” Using the key, I unlocked the doll house. My stomach knotted at what I saw, the scene of the prank.

Everything was right where it was, where we were all hidden. “Jesus, what the hell is this?” I asked. “This is messed up.” Matt grimaced, “I don’t like this, Em.”. Just as I looked back at it, the dolls head twitched, making me jump back with a scream, the attic of the doll house opening up. “I can’t do this anymore!” I whimpered, backing away.

Matt grimaced, leaning forward to pick something up from the attic of the doll house. “This isn’t right.” He frowned, and I gasped seeing Hannah’s diary. “Fuck this, we need to get out of here, Matt!”

Just as I said that, the door at the end of the basement opened up. “Do we really need to do this?” I whimpered, not thrilled as Matt continued forward. Of course the meathead was going to keep going. “You owe us big time, Sam.” I groaned, following after Matt.

It was an absolute nightmare to keep moving forward, but Matt just kept insisting on going deeper and deeper into this hell. God, why would the Washington’s build their lodge on top of an abandoned hotel?! It’s like they wanted us all to suffer through this shit fest!

The two of us kept moving and I stopped a bit to find something. “The hell…?” I asked, picking a book up from the floor. To my surprise, a pair of scissors were under it. “Damn right I’m taking these.” I said, pocketing the scissors. I’d like to see this bastard try- I turned around, noticing Matt was gone. “Matt..? Matt?” I asked, looking around for him, but there was nothing.

Oh god, no no. “Matt! Matt, where are you?” I shouted, searching around the halls, “This isn’t funny you damned meathead, get out here now!”. A noise caught my attention and I scowled, heading towards it, “Matt, what the-”

Just as I rounded the corner, I screamed seeing the psycho there. “Oh SHIT!” I screamed, wasting no time to book it down the hall. Shit, shit shit!!! “Fuck me!” I yelled, tripped over a knocked over stool on the ground. Pushing myself up, I yelled as the psycho grabbed me by the jacket. Shaking my arms free, I freed myself from my jacket and ran ahead as fast as I could.

Shit, there had to be a way out! There were two ways I could go, and I turned right, continuing to run as I tried getting away. Fuck me, everywhere I went was some scary nightmare this creep made! There was a place I could hide, but I’d have to squeeze through this right gap. Biting my lip, I started inching through it, trying to get out as fast as I could. I yelled as the psych grabbed my sleeve, making me stumble back.

Ripping myself free, I fell on my ass, gasping as he tore apart my shirt. Oh god, he was getting so close. Quickly getting onto my feet, I ran over to the hiding spot, struggling to hold my breath. 

_ Please don’t find me, please don’t- _

“Oh GOD!” I screamed as something grabbed me, pulling me out from the hiding spot.

“Emily, Jesus, it’s me! What happened to you?!” I looked up, gasping seeing as it was Matt. Whimpering, I clung to him crying, “Oh god, Matt I was so scared.”. Matt took a shaky breath, looking around before holding me tightly.

**MATT OLD HOTEL 3:11**

“Come on, we have to get out of here, Em.” I took off my letterman jacket and put it over her. When I found this bastard he was going to regret hurting any of us.

Making sure Emily was close, the two of us kept walking until we walked to a set of open doors. “What the hell?” I asked, the two of us walking in to find a mannequin tied up in a chair. “Oh god, it’s wearing Sam’s clothes.” Emily whimpered, wrapping the jacket around herself tighter. 

As I looked at the mannequin, something pulled my head back, my yells being cut off as a mask was put over my face, the world quickly going dark.

Groaning, I slowly came too, looking around, finding myself strapped to a chair. “Emily, Em?” I asked, watching her wake up. “Oh god, Matt.” Emily whimpered, looking around and sporting a new black eye. “You fucker, I’m gonna kill you! You hear me?!” I shouted, trying to get free. 

“Hello, Matthew. It’s time for you to make a choice.” Emily screamed in horror as the saw above us started, the two of us struggling to get free. “Only one of you will live, who will it be? Save your life, continue supporting your poor old grandmother and little sister… or save the life of the girl who uses you and cheated on you.”

“What?” “Matt, no please! It wasn’t that I sweat!” Emily sobbed, shaking her head.

Looking at her, I leaned over to pick up the gun with my hand shaking, this thing was heavier then it looked. Emily sobbed, shaking her head pleading “Matt, I’m sorry please don’t do this!”. 

Biting my lip, I closed my eyes, listening to Emily scream as I put the gun near my head and fired.


End file.
